Water can damage a home in a variety of manners. For example, a storm can damage a roof of a home and provide a path for rain water to enter the home and damage electrical systems, contents, and ceilings. Fixtures and devices in the home such as sink faucets, toilets, showers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and hot water heaters can malfunction or be unintentionally left in an activated condition once the homeowner leaves. These devices use water and thus provide another entry point for water to be unintentionally introduced into the home. Water unintentionally released from these devices can damage floors, walls, ceilings, and contents of the home and result in tens of thousands of dollars in damage and cleanup costs. As a result, homeowners are often apprehensive of water damaging their home.
One way to minimize unintentional water damage is to cut off the supply of water to the home. The homeowner could do this on a daily basis when exiting the home, or may only do this when leaving the home unattended for some extended period of time such as when he or she is on vacation. If the supply of water to the home is ceased, the amount of water damage from water unintentionally released from fixtures and devices in the home will be greatly minimized or even eliminated. In this regard, a main line shut-off valve is generally located somewhere between the home and a water line under or proximate a street next to the home. Unfortunately, the homeowner may not know the location of, or even the existence of, this main line shut-off valve. Still further, even if the homeowner knows the location of the main line shut-off valve, this valve may require a special wrench or other tools to effect its opening and closing. The homeowner may not have these special tools or may not be able to properly use them to cause the main line shut-off valve to be opened or closed. The location of the main line shut-off valve can be such that it is inconvenient or impractical to shut-off the water supply every time the user leaves the home or every time the user goes on vacation. Since homeowners will rarely or never turn off the main line shut-off valve, water will still be supplied to the home and the home will still be vulnerable to water damage from this source. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the invention.